It's only been a month of summer and I feel like I have crammed a YEAR into this month. It's been so busy, yet so great.

I am sure some of you are like, "Yeah, what can a teacher do for fun in the summer?"

Ahhhh, well, here are my highlights so far:

~ Wrestled both my cats to the vet for their appointments. Bonus: clean bills of health.~ Fished and hung out with my family at Clearwater Lake in Southern, Mo.~ Finally saw Alison Krauss and Union Station in concert. If you don't know her and the band, think of O' Brother Where Are Thou. They did a lot of the music and singing (not George Clooney). ~ Went to Reelfoot Lake, TN with my family to fish. Sadly, the best fish we caught were on our plates at the restaurants, but this place was so beautiful. I took so many photos and was just impressed with the region and wildlife. ~ Visited the Discovery Park of America in Union, TN. VERY COOL. My daughter loved it. ~ Took the only riverboat ferry across the Mississippi from Kentucky to Missouri. I was nervous. My daughter had to tell me it was going to be ok. We only had to pay $16 and a hug. I gave the cash to the ferry worker, while my daughter provided the hug. ~ Hiked a little trail at Big Oak Tree State Park in Southern Missouri (BEAUTY!). I have always wanted to see this place and it was worth it. It was just FULL OF LIFE and humidity, but that's to be expected. ~ Have filled a sick amount of memory cards with portrait sessions and TONS of nature photos.~ Was juried into (two of my photographs) the "Seeing Red" art show at Soulard Art Market.~ Am finally getting new ceiling fans! (the joys of home ownership)~ Painted an actual painting. I kinda like it. I am normally not pleased with my skills on a canvas. ~ Saved a snake's life. No joke. Poor thing. ~ Saw Lily Tomlin (comedian) live in St. Louis with my mom. ~ Made my dad smile big on Father's Day with his gifts and my presence. ~ I am in the running with my name suggestions for some new Yosemite National Park pack mules. I like naming contests. I hope I win. In the past I have named a sandwich and a boat, adding pack mules to the list would be STELLAR. ~ Camped and did a few trails in Southern Illinois with my daughter. It was just the two of us for some "bonding" time. We had quite the road trip.~ I had a listener hour where I picked every song played on Planet Radio. It's a classic rock internet radio station. Very cool stuff if you are ever interested: http://www.planetradio.us~ Was able to wish my Grandma (my daughter's "Grandma the Great") a VERY Happy Birthday.~ Had some quality time catching up with friends I hardly get to see during the school year, no offense kiddos but from August to May I spend way more time with you than my buddies. As much as I love you, I kinda miss them! ~ Got a sunburn. Was it a highlight? IDK, but I was starting to fear I'd end up in the hospital because it was pretty bad, but I ended up not needing medical attention...THAT is a silver lining!~ Found a fun show to binge watch on Netflix with my momma. Since I have Netflix and she doesn't, it gets her here to visit with me.~ Went to my first Art in the Park in Columbia, Mo. ~ I just started reading my second Bill Bryson book. Summer is my time to actually read for FUN and not for work. ~ Have made some great connections and plans for next school year for BJJTV. Some of which are improvements to this website and how it flows (and how you navigate it), which some of you may have already noticed. ~ Am attacking my HUGE amount of digital images I need to process for my family, friends, and for the art galleries/shows, etc. I participate in. ~ Paid off my house insurance. It's not due again till June 2016. THAT is another perk of adulthood, but not having to mess with it again for a year, is HUGE. ~ I rarely have set an alarm clock. I totally love my career except for that problem. Why can't school start at 11 and go to like 5 or 6? Hmmmm? I know, I am radical!

That's just a bit of the first month "off" and I know that July looks to be just as interesting, if not MORE.

SNEAK PEEK: I am going to photograph and visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons for the first time in July. Normally, I am a Yosemite gal, but I am branching out this summer!

Until next time, MT

PS I am with Morgan when she blogged about GETTING OUT. Even if you aren't able to get out of Franklin County, you can at least get out of your house. Go explore. Take your phone and/or camera and click some pics of the beauty around you. You won't regret it! Believe it or not, below is an iPhone photo I took on Reelfoot Lake in the boat. I used a cool app called SnapSeed to lightly HDR it and up the contrast a little.